The stig's identity

[entity279]

Ok, thought you were saying that the role of the white, slim Stig is "played" by multiple drivers.

 

[_xxx_]

I meant multiple drivers, what other reason would they have? This way they have an intriguing "mistery" for the audience and can still use whoever's available. Handy.

 

[Arwin]

I meant multiple drivers, what other reason would they have? This way they have an intriguing "mistery" for the audience and can still use whoever's available. Handy.

My thoughts exactly. The real trick about the Stig's identity is that he doesn't have any. On purpose, and for very practical reasons. A nice boon is that all F1 drivers (I'm guessing many will be F1 or former F1 drivers, the U.K. has plenty of those ) are about the same height.

 

[BRiT]

The Stig is really Chuck Norris.

 

[suryad]

The Stig is really Chuck Norris.

I think that the Stig is the same guy when they are testing cars on the test track but when they are doing some of the other stuff then I think it could probably be a different Stig...for example the Stig who took the F1 car around the track I highly doubt Renault would give him Fernando Alonso's championship winning ride to play around on that track for the sake of that TV show.

 

[Silent_Buddha]

It's quite possible that all the runs that were "disqualified" from the board were done by different "Stigs." And using non-road legal as a simple excuse to disqualify many from staying on the board.

Regards,
SB

 

[tongue_of_colicab]

I think that the Stig is the same guy when they are testing cars on the test track but when they are doing some of the other stuff then I think it could probably be a different Stig...for example the Stig who took the F1 car around the track I highly doubt Renault would give him Fernando Alonso's championship winning ride to play around on that track for the sake of that TV show.

They gave it to Hammond to play around with so why not to someone who is ex F1 or atleast has experience driving racing cars.

 

[tongue_of_colicab]

It's quite possible that all the runs that were "disqualified" from the board were done by different "Stigs." And using non-road legal as a simple excuse to disqualify many from staying on the board.

Regards,
SB

Well that would not make sense. Besides their rule is it needs to be able to cross speedbump. That is why cars like the Radical get taken off and cars like the Ascari are allowed to stay on because they got the nose lifting thingy. And there is only a small number of times that got taken off so I dont think that is the case.

 

[Scali]

"Stig" is what they would call the new kid at Clarkson's elementary school, I believe that's where the name came from.

Yea, but that's what Clarkson says
I've never heard of the word before Clarkson mentioned it.

 

[Bludd]

Yea, but that's what Clarkson says
I've never heard of the word before Clarkson mentioned it.

But new Top Gear was co-created by Clarkson. If he created the Stig, he can say what it means.

 

[Mariner]

The name comes from a well-known book (in the UK at least) called, "Stig of the Dump" about a modernish-day boy (the book was published in 1963) who befriends a caveman who lives in a small rubbish dump in a quarry.

I certainly read it when at junior school as, I'm guessing, did most people in the UK. An enjoyable story for young'uns!

 

[Scali]

So Stig is a caveman... makes sense

 

[Zaphod]

"Stig" used to be a popular name in Norway [usage chart], Sweden (still is I think), and Denmark. It's a short form of Stígandr, meaning "wanderer" in Old Norse.

 

[Bludd]

Being named Stig here in Norway is not uncommon at all. The only thing is that we pronounce it with a long i and the g is softer, like the stee in steed.

 

[RobertR1]

Would love to see what a top F1 driver could do on a dry track in a F1 car.

 

[Cheezdoodles]

That would defeat the whole point of having the power board, wouldn't it?

as long as the same stig does all the powerboard laps, its all good.

He has been played by several people, some of the unique special stunts are most likely done by special experts in that field. For example,the lillehammer olympic ski jump in a snowscooter, the rig stig, etc.

 

[Cheezdoodles]

Well that would not make sense. Besides their rule is it needs to be able to cross speedbump.

They have more rules than that! While the speedbump thingy is the most voiced one, the cars actually have to be roadlegal production cars.

Spoiler

also

All laps are timed with the car's manufacturer-provided adjustable settings configured for maximum performance — all adjustable suspensions are set at their most efficient, all gear shift maps are at their most aggressive, and driving aids such as traction control are deactivated

Racing slicks are certainly not allowed (and the reason for this is obvious, racing slicks would shave off a lot of time and make your car seem better than it really is.)

Otherwise, the Sea Harrier (0.31.2) lap time would stand, as the Sea Harrier most certainly can deal with a speedbumb.

 

[almighty]

Hope you have all realised that it's not Schumacher, they was taking the piss out of everyone in the media posting stories on who the Stig really is.

 

[tongue_of_colicab]

They have more rules than that! While the speedbump thingy is the most voiced one, the cars actually have to be roadlegal production cars.

Spoiler

also

Racing slicks are certainly not allowed (and the reason for this is obvious, racing slicks would shave off a lot of time and make your car seem better than it really is.)

Otherwise, the Sea Harrier (0.31.2) lap time would stand, as the Sea Harrier most certainly can deal with a speedbumb.

Yeah I know, though they do allow cars with almost slick tyres as long as its road legal (ofcourse, with slicks you cant be road legal). For example the Exige they tested, I dont think you want to be driving that in the wet with those tyres.

Hope you have all realised that it's not Schumacher, they was taking the piss out of everyone in the media posting stories on who the Stig really is.

Duh. Though, that said. I was watching a replay of a couple years old Top Gear ep and there too they did make a joking refference to The Stig and Schumacher. Funny to see how some things come back again by probably just luck.

 

[Phil]

Yeah I know, though they do allow cars with almost slick tyres as long as its road legal (ofcourse, with slicks you cant be road legal). For example the Exige they tested, I dont think you want to be driving that in the wet with those tyres.

They're called semi-slicks and are perfectly road legal. Not suited for in the wet though (but drivable), but having semi-slick tyres is more and more common. The Exige (which is a track focused car) is officially sold with semi-slicks, most cup versions of cars (Renault Clio Cup). In fact, when the Nissan GT-R was revealed, it had semi-slick tyres on it as well (and I'm sure they used that on the Nordschleife when they did the 7.3x time).